The New Recruit
by AccioStar
Summary: Cara's life takes a dramatic turn when she returns home one day to find her parents... dead. Follow Cara through her journey in CHERUB - She will make friends and enemies. Fall in and out of love. Be the hero and the loser.
1. Past

**Author's note: Hi everyone, this is my first story so please r&r! Hope you enjoy the first chapter and thanks to anyone who reads this :) xxx**

**-I changed Cara's age to twelve so I could get more action happening ;)**

CHAPTER 1 – PAST

Cara Marinos was a twelve year old girl with natural beauty. She was slightly shorter than average and sported a lightly tanned body with a skinny waist. She featured big, intense turquoise eyes, a small straight nose, plump lips and long wavy honey blonde hair that went half-way down to her waist. Her father was Greek, and her mother was half French half Austrian, she was a unique combination indeed. She had lived her early years of infancy in Melbourne, also where her parents had met, before moving up to London at the age of four.

Cara's dad owned a very successful company and was hardly ever home, and her mum had been a model, but she retired early and ended up fashion designing from home. So because of this, Cara formed a close bond with her mum, from whom Cara seemed to have inherited most of her features. They lived in a posh mansion situated in the richest suburb of London, and Cara led a pretty ordinary rich kid's life- at least before it all happened.

One day, Cara had returned from a draining day of school to a silent house, _too_ silent. She'd crept a few steps along the huge hallway, before her foot sank into a puddle of gooey stuff – _blood_. She cautiously moved further along the luxurious corridor, her heart pounding wildly in her chest, and turned into the living room, only to find her dad sprawled across the fluffy mat, blood oozing from a gash in his left breast. Cara was so shocked at seeing her dad's dead body that she collapsed onto the wooden floor, her face chalky white and her hand covering her mouth.

When she had calmed a little, Cara pulled herself up with help from the door frame, legs quaking, and continued slowly through the adjoining double doors into the dining room. And there was her mum, resting upon the wall with her two hands supporting a bloody kitchen knife which was gauged into her stomach. Cara slowly stepped forward; tears rolling down her face as she gently grasped her mother's stone cold right hand and stared at her beautiful face that was now grey. She looked so peaceful that Cara felt that she shouldn't disturb her mother's deep sleep. So just like that, she remained still, silently sobbing beside her dear mother for what seemed like hours, until at last, she stood and reached for the phone, then slowly dialed triple nine.

The next few hours passed as a blur. The police arrived and taped off the scene of crime, the house was surrounded by journalists at this news and Cara was ushered into a police car and driven to the local station by a couple of friendly officers, although they treated her like she was five and this irritated her. They seemed to be avoiding the subject of the death of Cara's parents, as they probably thought it was a sensitive spot. When they arrived, they brought her a mug of hot cocoa with two white melting marshmallows floating on the surface, which reminded Cara of the hot cocoas that her mum would always make for her – they were the best. While she sipped at the mug sadly, two young women accompanied her, while a few other officers were talking quietly on a phone nearby, occasionally throwing backwards glances at Cara. She assumed that they were contacting psychologists or whatever, as she hadn't spoken a word since calling the police and they probably thought she was mentally scarred by the gruesome image that she had witnessed.

When she looked up to check the time on a clock hanging above the reception desk, it was already six o'clock. An elderly woman walked in at around six thirty. While a few officers went out to buy dinner for the lot, the lady – introducing herself as Jennifer Mitchum – sat beside her on the plastic benches and made some small talk. Cara found herself liking Jennifer – she was really nice and respected what Cara had to say, and eventually they were in a deep conversation about each other's lives. Jennifer told stories about her job and unusual people she had encountered and in exchange Cara would tell her about her life, in school, at home, about her mum and dad, just her life problems in general.

Around eight, after having a pizza which Cara could only manage to get a few bites out of, Jennifer led Cara to a small bedroom. Cara assumed that it was the place where she would have to stay for the night, but as she turned around to examine the room, a sharp needle pierced her arm. She tried to scream, but her voice got caught in her throat and she got swallowed into darkness.


	2. Arrival

**Please r&r if you like my story so far or if you think there's anything I can improve on! :) xx**

CHAPTER 2 – ARRIVAL

Cara slowly opened her eyes, reaching up to pick at the sleep in the corners of her eyes and yawning gracelessly. She realized that she only had her bra and knickers on, panicking and thinking what the hell had happened. She pushed off her elbows and shifted her bum back on the clean white sheets, sitting up and bringing her hand to her head. She looked around the spacious room, taking in everything as she screwed up her face with the effort of trying to recall the series of events that had led to her being in this strange room.

The room looked like a plush hotel room, with its kettle, microwave, mini-fridge, flat-screen TV and just the overall tidiness. She felt slightly numb while she scrambled out of the sheets and sat with her feet resting on the floor beside the single bed.

She noticed that there were a set of clothes on the floor, like a uniform. It consisted of a pair of khaki cargo trousers and black boots that smelled of rubber, and a weird orange t-shirt that had a logo on it. The logo was of a cupid-like baby dressed in army gear and sitting on a globe. The globe then had the word 'CHERUB' written across it in capital letters. Cara hesitated, but pulled the uniform on anyway as she didn't fancy walking around half naked. They fitted perfectly. She walked over to the windows and pulled back the curtains. Sunlight burst into the dark room, and Cara squinted as her eyes adjusted to the sudden lightness. She was looking down at a magnificent fountain which had a statue of the same logo that was printed on the t-shirt in the centre of the water. In the distance she could see what appeared to be the main entrance, with a stretch of path leading from the fountain to the gate. Where ever she was, just from the small area that was in sight, Cara could tell that this place was really modern and _massive_.

Eventually, she thought that it was best if she exit the room to go investigate. As she let the door swing closed behind her, Cara noticed that even the spaced out corridor was like that of a hotel's. There seemed to be a set of lift doors at the opposite end of the corridor.

She moved towards the lift at a steady pace, still pondering where she was and why. The lift arrived literally seconds after she'd pressed the down button, and she stepped in to find two boys standing inside, holding iPads. The first thing she noticed about them was the colour of their t-shirts. They were both wearing basically the exact same uniform as Cara, except their t-shirts were grey. They both looked about the same age as Cara as well. She wondered if she should ask them for directions, and decided that she should. As the lift moved down, Cara looked at the boys and thought about how she should start her story, "Umm… I just woke up in a strange room and-"

One of the boys cut her off, "Can't talk to orange."

Cara ignored this and continued, "Could you please tell me where to go?"

This time, the other boy, with a stocky build and light brown hair with green eyes, repeated the phrase "Can't talk to orange," but as the lift reached ground floor, he gestured for her to follow.

They stepped out and he pointed to the reception desk, before smiling, then turning around and heading off.

"Thanks!" Cara yelled after him. There was an elderly receptionist sitting behind the desk, and as Cara approached her, she smiled warmly. "Cara Marinos?"

"Yes."

"Door to the right," she twisted around and pointed.

"Gotcha," Cara said as she proceeded to the door, paused in front of it, not knowing what to expect, and knocked. A woman's voice sounded from inside, "Come in!" Cara pushed open the wooden door to reveal a very spacey and modern room, and a mumsy-looking woman sitting behind an iMac propped on the glass desk, smiling up at her.

"You must be Cara," the woman beamed, gesturing for her to sit down in the Herman Miller chair on the opposite side of the desk.

"Yes," was all Cara could think of to say.

"Welcome, let me introduce myself. I'm Zara Asker, and this is my fifth year as chairwoman of CHERUB. Now you must be wondering what on earth CHERUB is, but please leave questions 'till after I finish my introduction."

Cara nodded.

"OK, starting with the basics. CHERUB is a branch of British Intelligence. We employ agents aged between ten and seventeen years old. You might think: 'but why use kids when you have adults?' well the answer is simple. Kids can get away with all kinds of stuff that adults can't. And here at CHERUB, we train you kids to become undercover agents. To become qualified for missions, however, cherubs need to first complete a very tough one-hundred-day Basic Training course. The next starts in four weeks' time. The campus has a combined role as a boarding school and intelligence operation. We spotted you after the event of your parents' death. Jennifer Mitchum, who found out all about you last night, suggested we recruit you."

"Jennifer Mitchum?!" Cara was amazed.

"Yes, she, as a retired CHERUB agent, is a very worthy source for us. When she notices potential in the patients that she encounters, she contacts us. We would've liked to have you planted in a children's home first and watch you closely for a few weeks, but our numbers are quite low and Jennifer spoke highly of you." Zara explained.

The memories of the day before came into focus, then she remembered the needle. "That needle… why?"

"Our campus is top security, so we had to drug you to bring you here. In case you refuse to join or fail the entrance tests and have to return to London, then you won't have evidence of our campus even if you spilled about CHERUB, so no one would believe you."

Cara thought this made sense, but frowned. "Tests?"

"Yes, to be recruited into CHERUB, you have to pass a series of entrance tests first. There are five parts that will last the rest of the day. So are you up for it?"

Cara took an excited breath. "Sure."

"Very well," Zara winked. "Now shall I take you to your first test?"


	3. Tests

**This chapter is longer than the others. I hope you enjoy it! Please review so I can know what you think about it. Thanks :) xx**

CHAPTER 3 – TESTS

Zara drove Cara to the place where the first test was taking place in a golf buggy. This increased Cara's desire to get recruited into CHERUB even more. They reached a traditional dojo and stepped in. The interior was mostly wooden, with blue padded mats in the centre of the wooden floor.

"This is the dojo."

Cara nodded knowingly – she had been forced to do martial arts since she was six as her parents believed it was best for a girl to know a few moves to protect herself, in fact, she knew way more than just a few moves.

They made their way into a smaller room coming off the side of the building. There was already a pretty girl in a grey t-shirt in there, and she smiled as they walked in. The girl had fair skin, long brunette hair which was pulled into a high ponytail and bright green eyes. She was about the same height and looked the same age as Cara, but Carla could tell that she was also strong.

"This is Alicia," Zara introduced, "and this is Cara."

The two girls both nodded.

"Now, the first test. You are going to spar with Alicia. The first to win three submissions is the winner. An opponent can submit by speaking or tapping her hand on the mat. Either opponent can withdraw from the bout at any time. You can do anything to get a submission except eye gouging or hair pulling. Take off your shoes and socks."

Alicia was already bare footed, and she stood watching as Cara obeyed the instructions. Before commencing, she pulled her honey hair into a messy top knot.

When she saw that Cara was ready, Alicia enthusiastically moved to the centre of the mat. Cara followed and stood opposite her opponent, taking up a fighting stance.

"Ready, fight!"

Alicia sprung forward, she was quick, but Cara was quicker. She dodged the strike swiftly and quickly turned around to face her stunned opponent. She chose that moment when her opponent's defenses were low to attack. Cara landed a perfect round-house kick to Alicia's side and jumped on top of her, pinning her arms to her side. Her opponent didn't submit, so Cara slightly shifted her weight, jerking Alicia's left arm into an agonizing arm lock. Alicia gasped in pain, and finally yelled,

"I submit!"

Cara got off her and returned to the centre of the mat. Her competitive mode had taken over and she faced her opponent off coldly.

"Prepare for your second bout, fight!" Zara exclaimed.

This time it was Cara who made the first move. She leapt forward, landing an explosive kick to Alicia's gut. Her opponent doubled over, and she took the chance to again pull Alicia into an arm lock, this time applying more pressure. Alicia knew that her shoulder was literally centimetres from popping out of its socket, so she yelled "I submit!" again.

"Now, your third and final bout, fight!"

Cara could tell that Alicia was in pain after being injured twice in the same spot. She felt kind of bad inside, but still, she showed no mercy. She punched Alicia straight in the face this time. There was a sickening crunch, and as Cara pulled back, she could see that Alicia was holding a bloody face, and kneeling on the carpet. Cara had misjudged the force of her punch. Zara stepped forward and knelt down in front of Alicia.

"I think it's broken, you'd better go to the medical unit."

Alicia managed to nod and stumbled out of the room with Zara at her side.

Cara felt numb. She'd probably just ruined her chances of getting into CHERUB by injuring one of their agents. She expected Zara to be angry when she returned, but to her surprise, she was greeted with a smile.

"Wow, that was some really good technique back there, have you done martial arts before?"

"Yeah, I've been sparring since I was six and I'm now a first dan black belt," Cara didn't want to boast, but it sounded like she was.

Zara grinned, "That's pretty impressive. So, you ready for your second test?"

"Yeah."

They exited the dojo and boarded the buggy again. This time they arrived at a modern building, reminding Cara an awful lot of school. They entered the building, known as the Education Block according to Zara, and walked along the corridors, finally stopping at one of the doors and entered. It was quite a simple classroom, with a few desks and a teacher's desk at the front. There was paper on one of the desks in the middle of the room, and Cara sat down, while Zara settled onto the comfy Teacher's chair.

"This one's a written test; it consists of Maths, English and General Knowledge. You will have forty-five minutes to complete the test paper, and your time starts as soon as you open the test booklet."

Cara was confident after her success in the first test. Before starting to write, she skimmed all of the pages first. Although Cara was a bright kid, she often found classes boring and spent most of school lessons zoning out and mucking around. She never got into any major trouble, so her parents assumed that she was well behaved. She found the test relatively easy, especially the Maths, and scribbled the answers in her small, neat writing. She ended up finishing ten minutes early, and spent five minutes checking her work.

"Alright, two down, three to go," Zara smiled as they made their way back out of the building and walked to the gold buggy parked by the entrance. She checked her watch before she pulled out and said, "You know what? I reckon you should grab an early lunch and then complete the remaining tests afterwards."

At the mention of food, Cara suddenly remembered that the last food she ate was a few bites of greasy pizza the evening before and she was starving.

She got off the buggy and entered the cafeteria while Zara sped off down the pathway. Cara didn't know what to expect, but as it was only around eleven fifteen there weren't many people in there anyway. The few people who were sitting at the tables, however, all went quiet as Cara passed them. She guessed it was probably something to do with the 'Can't talk to orange' thing. She made her way over to where the trays were and grabbed a plate, then followed the one person that was in the line. It wasn't until after she'd gotten her food and was looking for a table to sit at that she noticed the guy in front of her was the one that had directed her to Zara's office earlier in the morning. He didn't seem to have seen her, and looked slightly surprised when he turned around after Cara'd tapped him on the shoulder.

"Umm… hi," Cara stuttered, blushing slightly. She was glad when his face filled with recognition.

"Hey, it's Cara, isn't it?" He sounded so effortlessly cool but also nice. "I'm not supposed to talk to you since you're still wearing the orange t-shirt, but no one'll tell anyway. "Oh, and by the way, I'm Michael; you can just call me Mike." He flashed a Colgate smile.

Cara smiled, Mike's smile seemed to have triggered her brain to start working and she found her words, "I've just done two of my entrance tests and I'm having an early lunch. Well, I'm kind of a loner at the moment, so… mind if I sit with you?"

Mike grinned, "Sure," As they walked along the rows of tables, Mike explained that all his usual group either were on missions or had lessons, so it was just the two of them. They stopped at a plastic table that looked to fit about eight people, and they sat opposite each other. While eating, they talked heaps - short summaries of how they ended up in CHERUB and other stuff. Mike was thirteen years old and he had finished basic training three years ago. His parents died in a car crash when he was seven and he joined CHERUB at eight. He seemed to be intrigued by Cara's story about her parents' death, and how she'd ended up at campus so quickly.

Cara really liked Mike and hoped that she passed the rest of the tests as well. When she had finished eating, she realized that Zara hadn't told her where to go for her next test. But she needn't have worried – she was halfway to the door when Zara stepped in, as always, wearing her bright smile.

"Just in time," she said as they exited the cafeteria and boarded the buggy once again. The third test was held in a small, box-like room, with just one table, two chairs on either side of it and a cage on the table. Zara sat at the further most chair from the table, so Cara sat in the remaining chair. Peering closely, she realized that there was a chicken in the cage. She wondered what the hell a chicken had to do with being a secret agent.

Zara broke the silence. "Cara, do you like chicken?"

Cara was confused, "As in eating it?"

"Yes."

"Yeah, chicken's good."

"Good, then you can kill the chicken," Zara said casually.

"Sorry?"

"I would like you to kill the chicken, Cara." Zara repeated.

"No, I-I can't."

"What if I told you that this is your only chance to get into CHERUB?"

Cara felt sick, but repeated, "I can't."

"Why not? You eat it when it's cooked but won't kill it yourself."

"It's…its just wrong. I can't do it."

"Not even if I pay you?"

"No." Cara repeated more firmly.

"Alright then, if that's what you say…" Zara stood and strode two paces to the door, opened it and stepped outside, holding the door open for Cara as she followed.

This time the drive took a little longer. They passed a lake on the way and Cara noticed that they were entering a forest-like area. They pulled up at the edge of where the trees began to dense, and as Cara looked up, she could see an obstacle course crossing through the upper branches of the trees. It looked pretty simple, but then Cara realized that there were no nets and it didn't appear that there was going to be any harnesses either. Zara walked up and greeted two tough looking teenagers who were both girls, introducing Cara to them.

"Hi Cara, I'm Taylor and this is Rebecca. We'll be helping you through the assault course." One of the girls smiled. She was quite short for her age and quite muscley. She had brown hair and brown eyes. The other girl was a red-head with cold grey eyes. She was quite tall and slimmer than Taylor, but also fit. Rebecca nodded sternly at Cara.

"I'll be watching down here," Zara called after them as the trio made their way up the rope ladder together, the two older girls sandwiching Cara in between. Cara quickly noticed that Taylor was the one to talk, while Rebecca just moved along without saying a word. They reached a wooden platform suspended between two huge trees more than twenty metres off the ground. She knew she wasn't supposed to look down, but Cara couldn't help peeking down. She felt wobbly and quickly focused back on the less than two boot lengths wide plank in front of her. She took a deep breath and stepped forward – she was now on the edge of the platform. Carefully, Cara placed one foot on the plank, then another and another. She moved quickly and it actually wasn't as hard as she'd expected. Within fifteen seconds both teenagers were at her side again. "Good job!" Taylor enthused.

Cara prepared herself for the next part of the obstacle course. There were two long scaffold poles stretching across the ten-metre gap to the next platform.

"A hand on each pole, then hook your boots around the back and crawl." Taylor explained.

Taylor led the way, with Cara behind her and Rebecca at the back. She moved quickly, reaching a square platform with a wooden fence built around two sides. The next part of the course involved crossing a series of wooden planks and leaping over gaps between them. She made the first two jumps easily enough, as they were only about a metre and a half, but the third was a two metre leap on to a plank that was slightly offset. Cara landed on the plank safely, but needed to outstretch her arms to steady herself. She then walked across the last of the plank and made a simple jump onto another square platform thirty metres off the ground. She allowed herself to breathe again.

The final section of the course involved first walking down a steeply sloping plank that was narrower than a CHERUB combat boot. Cara was pretty shaky, but managed to reach the rope slide safely with a short run up and eight nervous steps. Rebecca stepped over to the front of the platform and grabbed a metre of damp nylon rope out of a plastic dustbin. She slung one end over the main rope that led down to the ground and gripped the rubber handles on each end.

"Okay," Taylor said, "this next bit is the hardest. You have to whizz down and swing when you're several metres off the ground. Try to copy Bec when she does it. Wait until you clear the last tree, then count two seconds and let go, or you'll crash into the pond. Be careful though, jump too soon and you break your legs, jump too late and you get a soaking."

Cara didn't need to be reminded that she might end up with broken legs, but appreciated the fact that Taylor was doing all she could to help make life easier for Cara. She nodded as Rebecca disappeared into a mass of branches.

"Ready?" Taylor asked as she helped Cara grab the main rope and stepped back.

"I want to get into CHERUB, and nothing will stop me."

Cara launched herself off the platform, hardly believing that she was doing this as branches flew past her legs, everything a blur. Her heart had jumped into her mouth during the process, but she remembered Taylor's instructions at the last minute and counted to two then let go after she passed the last trunk. A large pond had been dug there, and she might have let go a bit too late as the smell of rotting meat filled her nostrils. She felt disgusting as her feet sunk into a mass of glutinous brown algae and the brown water soaked up to her thighs, but it could have ended a lot worse.

Wading out, Cara could see Taylor dusting herself off a few metres ahead, and she gave Cara a hug as she stepped out with her lower body drenched. Even Rebecca mumbled a, "Good job," as they clambered through a stretch of undergrowth. As they reached the patch where the course started, Zara jogged over, grinning widely. "All in one piece?"

Cara nodded dumbly.

"Now, you ready for your last test?"

The last test was a swimming test. They stopped outside a large building opposite some fields, and entered. Cara immediately recognized the smell of chlorine.

"This is our Main Pool Complex. We have four different pools, today you'll be in the 100m pool. The change rooms are over there and please walk through the door on the right once you're done. I'll be waiting for you there." She turned and exited through a door.

Cara walked into the Women's change room. There was a one-piece bathing suit laid out on the bench already. She pulled off her filthy boots and socks first and changed fast. Dumping her uniform on the bench, she looked to her right and indeed, there was a door there. Cara pulled down on the handle and stepped in.

The pool here was no different to any other pool, except it was the same depth the whole way – two metres. Although Cara wasn't the best swimmer, she knew the basic strokes and had obtained many qualities pro to swimming thanks to her martial arts training.

She walked over to Zara, who was standing at the closer end. "All you need to do is dive off this block, grab the brick sitting on the bottom of the pool there, then swim to the other end."

Cara nodded and stepped onto the block, taking up a position where her body was arched, her toes clasping onto the edge of the block and her hands were in the 'torpedo' shape.

"Whenever you're ready," Zara's voice came from behind her.

Cara breathed as much air as her lungs allowed her to and pushed off from the edge. The water was really cold but it was late summer so it didn't really matter, and it felt great to wash off the disgusting pond water and residue. Cara angled her body to near vertical and pumped her feet continuously in a flutter kick while her body sliced the water. It was difficult to open her eyes underwater but she managed to keep them open long enough to see where the brick was. Cara's eyes burned from the chlorine as she stretched out her arm. Her fingers brushed the tiled floor of the pool and she began to blindly feel around. She was starting to run out of breath but at last, Cara felt the rough surface of the brick and grasped it. She let her lower body drop, then pushed off the ground, breaking the surface of the water as her ears popped and gasping for breath. Cara could hardly see as she kept on swimming, but the blurred outline of the concrete edge ahead came into focus. Her legs were starting to ache and she felt her stomach sinking slightly, but she made it to the end of the pool and pulled herself up.

Zara had walked along while Cara swam and threw her a towel when she got out of the pool.

"Excellent. So, that's the entrance tests done then. Why don't you change first, then come to my office for the results? I'll be waiting for you outside in the buggy."


	4. Results

**Please please review! Thanks for reading :) xxxx**

CHAPTER 4 – RESULTS

Cara was exhausted after all the tests, but still, she changed quickly as she wanted to know her results as soon as possible. She jogged out of the entrance over to the buggy and jumped in.

The Drive back to the main building was quite short. Zara left the car in front of the main entrance of the building and strode across the lobby to her office door. She pulled out a set of keys and twisted it in the lock, then pushed the door open. They figured it was more comfy to sit on the couches to the side, and when they'd both settled comfortably into the soft cushions, Zara pulled out a piece of paper.

Cara felt slightly nervous as she leant forward in her seat, awaiting her results for the entrance tests and, of course, the decision.

"Results,"

Cara shuffled to the edge of the sofa.

"You did extremely well on the sparring test. It isn't surprising, seeing as you're a first dan black belt already. You managed to win all three bouts, so you passed with high marks."

Cara smiled in part relief but tensed up again as Zara moved on to announce the rest of her results.

"Your written work was also very successful. You got full marks on Maths, and almost all of the questions correct for English and General Knowledge. With the third test, however,"

At the work 'however', Cara felt her heart drop – she had refused to kill the chicken many times, did this mean that she had failed that test?

"You did refuse to kill the chicken, but you held your ground and didn't allow me to bully you into doing it. You were a bit squeamish, but overall, you did good in that test."

Cara let out a sigh of relief.

"As for the height obstacle course, you showed courage and moved with speed. You looked slightly doubtful about the jump in the end, but you did make up your mind of doing it without any further encouragement from the girls, so you passed with relatively high marks."

Cara allowed herself to smile a little. There was just one more to go.

"For the swimming test, you did well. Your dive was good, and your strokes were strong. You pushed yourself to the limit and managed to get the brick. I am very pleased with you, Cara. As a whole, you were outstanding. You're in a fit condition, both physically and mentally, and you were willing to try. In fact, I think your performance today has been one of the best I've seen in my years here. So…" Zara held up the suspense by pausing dramatically. "Cara Marinos, I would like to award you a place in CHERUB." Zara grinned and patted Cara on the back. "Your room's on the sixth floor, number zero-six-zero-five. Your possessions will arrive soon. Basic Training starts in four weeks time, and your assigned handler, Meryl Spencer, will provide you with more information at your appointment at ten a.m. tomorrow. You are then to attend a medical appointment after lunch." She dropped the formal tone. "You'll make a brilliant cherub," she smiled, "and what are you waiting for? Go relax in your new room!"


	5. Friends

**I've been looking for photos that are close to what the characters look like in my mind. Please review and I'll post them? Thanks :) xx**

CHAPTER 5 – FRIENDS

Cara felt like the world had been lifted off her shoulders as she skipped out of Zara's office. She wore an ear-to-ear grin, and she sped across the lobby to where the lift doors were. The lift was empty when it arrived, and Cara stepped in and pressed the six button, knowing that the following few years would probably be the best ever in her whole life.

After first pulling on the light blue CHERUB T-shirt sitting on her bed, Cara then began and errand of running around her new room, studying every piece of furniture closely and repeating the words 'simply _awesome_' over and over again, Cara finally collapsed onto her amazingly comfy Queen bed and lay there staring at the ceiling, still smiling like crazy.

Her stuff had arrived earlier, and there were now a huge pile of luggage bags which basically contained the contents of the house that was now legally hers on the floor beside her bed. Cara rolled off the soft mattress and kneeled on the floor, mentally calculating how long it would take for her to finish unpacking everything.

She had gotten through merely a fifth of the luggage when there was a knock on the door. "Coming!" she yelled from the floor, wondering who it could be as she trudged across the carpet on bare feet. There were two people standing there and Cara recognized both of them – It was Alicia and Mike!

"Hey…" she said, slightly out of breath.

Mike smiled, "Hey, me and Ali heard the good news so we decided to come and congratulate you." He peeked into the room behind Cara and smirked at the mess she had created in the short matter of time. "Looks like you're having a bit of trouble unpacking there."

Alicia beamed from beside him and as Cara glanced from Mike to Alicia, something clicked into place. Of course! "You guys are siblings, aren't you?" Cara exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger between them.

Mike laughed, "Couldn't you tell?"

It all made sense. They both had light brown hair and emerald green eyes, fair skin and even had similar laughs, she noticed. Then Cara remembered how she'd busted Alicia's nose. "Alicia… in the first test… I'm so sorry about that punch. I-I misjudged the force of it…" She tailed off as Alicia burst out laughing.

"It's fine, Cara! No sweat, you were really good at fighting. I went to the medical unit and the nurse patched me up fine. We get way worse injuries when we train and stuff anyway, so don't worry. Oh, and just call me Ali."

Cara let out a relieved smile and addressed the two siblings that she could feel would become her best friends. "So… care to help me out with unpacking here?"

They both chuckled and followed Cara into her room. At the sight of the many bags on the floor with clothes and other belongings draped across the bed, Ali gasped. "Wow, Cara, how much stuff do you have?"

Cara grinned at her, "My dad was the owner of this really big clothes company and my mum a fashion designer. They were_ loaded_."

"Lucky," Mike said as he bent down, grabbed an armful of clothes and walked into the ensuite. Cara's room was identical to theirs, so he knew where everything was. He stepped into a walk-in wardrobe off the side of the ensuite and flipped on the light, revealing a spacy box-like room surrounded with coat hangers. Nearly half of them already had clothes dangling off them.

Cara and Ali followed him into the wardrobe. Ali took the clothes from him and instructed, "I'll hang all these up, and when I yell, bring me another hand-full of clothes, aye? You guys can go out and start putting all the other stuff in the drawers."

Mike and Cara nodded in unison and backed out of the walk-in. "Oh yeah," Mike broke the momentary silence, turning and gazing at Cara with those piercing green eyes, "My room's opposite yours, number o-six-o-four, but Ali's on the next floor, number o-seven-o-two."

Cara smiled at the thought of having at least one of her friends on the same floor as her. For the remaining time of unpacking all of her stuff, she and Mike just talked and talked, all about campus – the people, missions, the summer hostel, celebrations, gossip, history of past students… occasionally pausing as Mike loaded another arm full of clothes to where Ali was working. Mike, having completed Basic Training a few groups before the group who were suffering at the moment, told Cara about the horrors of Basic Training. Cara felt slightly nerved up about Basic Training, but seeing as once the a hundred days had passed, everything would be heaven, and she still had four more weeks to settle in, she didn't worry too much about it.

It was gone eight when the three of them finally finished all of the unpacking. Time seemed to have flown as they mucked around, talked and unpacked, and they figured it was too late to go down to the canteen for dinner. They ended up at Mike's place having two-minute noodles together, and the siblings helped Cara load her minifridge with snacks and soft drinks from the food store. After they parted it was nine thirty already. Cara returned to her luxurious room that felt so much like home, had a hot shower, changed into an oversized t-shirt and comfy pajama shorts, brushed her teeth, set her alarm to eight thirty, and crashed off without bothering to sleep under the doona. She was exhausted from an eventful day.


	6. New Identity

**My author's note's at the end :) xx**

CHAPTER 6 – NEW IDENTITY

The following morning, the shrill ringing of Cara's alarm sounded at exactly eight-thirty. She groaned and rolled over on her side, fumbling around to switch off the alarm. After the third attempt, it finally shut up and by that time Cara had already awoken completely. She propped herself up on her elbows and grinned at the flat-screen TV facing her, knowing there was a full day ahead of CHERUB life awaiting her.

In the canteen, Cara could already see Mike and Ali and a few other faces that she didn't recognize sitting at their usual table. When she'd finished collecting two pieces of toast and a bowl of cocoa pops, she carefully made her way over to the table and asked jokingly, "Mind if I join?"

Mike, who had his back to Cara, whipped around with a big grin on his face. "Mornin', Cara, how'd you sleep?"

Cara smiled back while sitting down in the seat on the right of Ali, "Excellent, you?"

"Not bad. Oh, guys, this is Cara, she just passed the entrance tests yesterday." He addressed the other people.

"Cara, this is Matt," Mike gestured to a boy dressed in a grey t-shirt with floppy dirty blonde hair and bright blue eyes.

He smiled lazily, "Hi, Cara. Welcome to our group."

"Cheers, Matt."

"This is Gemma," Mike continued. The girl smiled at Cara. She was wearing a grey t-shirt and had amazing platinum blonde hair and hazel eyes with sun-kissed skin.

"And last but not least, this is Andrew."

Andrew gave Cara a hi-five. "I can't believe you busted Ali's nose! Whoop whoop." He, also wearing a blue t-shirt, had slightly curly brown hair and rich brown eyes.

Ali reached across the table and playfully punched Andrew in the arm.

"There's also the twins Jack and Josh, but they're on a mission together down under." Mike concluded.

Everyone was so nice and through breakfast, Cara got to know them a lot better. Now that she had at least one companion for the Basic Training Course, Cara felt a lot better. She'd have Andrew along with about six other agents to complete the Course alongside her.

They told her that most of them had already completed Basic Training one or two years ago, but Andrew had failed once due to a severe injury and had to wait for it to heal before taking the next course.

When the minute hand of the clock hanging on the wall stroke ten to, Cara stood, bidding her goodbyes with the new friends she'd made. They directed her to her handler, Meryl Spencer's office, and she arrived five minutes early.

Cara knocked twice, and the door opened immediately. Meryl towered over Cara and was exceptionally muscular. She had dark skin and Cara guessed that she was African. According to the stuff that her friends had told her about Meryl, she was a retired Olympian Sprinter and a fair but strict handler. She introduced herself and invited Cara to sit opposite her.

"Now, your parents left a very large sum of money, five mansions and many possessions for you. As you are still underage, we put all of the money into a saving account for you. You can withdraw forty pounds a month, plus a hundred on your birthday and Christmas. We will take care of the housing property until you are eighteen years old and the possessions that don't come into use now will also be returned to you at that age. Is that fair?"

Cara nodded respectfully, "Yes."

"We will also help in the investigating of your parents' death and will alert you with any breakthrough."

Cara nodded again, feeling slightly sad.

"Now, you will need a new name. You can change your first name too if you want, but it's mainly the surname that is in concern. There's only one rule: the surname has to fit your ethnicity."

For the next few minutes Cara quietly thought up a surname that was suitable. She mentally threw about a few options, and finally made her decision.

"Is 'Cara April Hunter' okay?" She asked. She liked her first name so kept it, and she was born in April. She thought it was both a beautiful name and part of a good season – spring. The surname bit was the main part that she had to consider more, but she decided on Hunter as she thought it sounded cool.

Meryl nodded and noted it down. "Okay, I think it's all sorted then. You have the rest of today and tomorrow off, then you will start lessons on Monday. Basic Training starts on the fifth of September in four week's time. Here's your timetable and if you have any further questions you can come in and ask me any time, alright?"

"Yep, thanks." Cara Hunter said as she slipped off the wooden chair. Even if it was only just a change of name, she still felt like a new person with a new identity, she felt as if this was the start of a new life. Cara Marinos was the past.

** All the characters are good-looking (as they are in stories) ;) I lurvve the name Hunter! Thanks so much for reading! :) xx**


	7. Needles

**Some of the chapters (like this one) are shorter, but there'll definitely be more interesting stuff later! Please r&r :) xxx**

CHAPTER 7 – NEEDLES

Cara slowly made her way toward the medical unit. She _hated_ needles and hoped that she was just going for a regular check up. She arrived at a box-shaped building and stepped gingerly into the reception area. There was a nurse sitting behind the reception desk, smiling brightly up at Cara. "You must be Cara, you're just on time. Go through the hallway and take the second door to your left."

Cara obeyed the instructions and found herself standing in front of a plain white door. She knocked and a voice that sounded faintly German called, "Come in."

She pushed open the door to reveal a large clean-looking room. There were a few hospital beds, various pieces of equipment and a treadmill. There was a man in a white robe standing in front of her. He had grey hair, but he looked very healthy.

"Cara Hunter, isn't it?" he asked.

"Yes, Doctor…?"

The man laughed. "I don't always come across nicely-mannered patients like you, kiddo, it's Kessler. Dr Kessler

Cara smiled. "So is this just a basic check up or something?"

Kessler grinned. "Not exactly, and you've got some jabs as well."

Cara screwed up her face and he laughed again.

"Now, you've got a medical exam and a fitness assessment to go through. We'll first have you do a few push-ups and a short run on the treadmill, but we'll also need to take a couple of other tests to determine how fit you have the potential to become. X-rays will determine your bone density, ultrasound to examine the composition of your muscles, and we'll also have to take urine and blood samples. The proper fitness test consists of eighteen parts that measures everything from muscle strength to body fat, to how fast you can run and how long you can hold your breath.

I will also help you to get into the best shape after the fitness test, and you will have to follow the dietary advice and exercise guidelines I give you to reach the training targets that will be set. Then, lastly, I will inject all the vital immunizations that you will need. CHERUB agents can be sent anywhere in the word at short notice. You have to be vaccinated for all of the major tropical diseases. Influenza, Cholera, Typhoid, Hepatitis A, Hepatitis C, Rubella, Yellow Fever, Lassa Fever, Tetanus, Japanese Encephalitis, Tuberculosis, Meningitis." He recited the long list of vaccinations. "You'll have seven today, then five in two days and another four in a week. You'll also have some booster jabs in six months. Twenty-three altogether. And cherubs also have a six-monthly check-up, so I'll be seeing you lots in the future." He smiled before continuing. "So, are you ready?"

Cara groaned and answered sarcastically. "Ready as I ever will be."


	8. Settling In

**Hope you like all of the characters! Please let me know what you think :) xxxx**

CHAPTER 8 – SETTLING IN

Cara came out of the medical test with both arms and thighs aching. It felt like a hell of a lot of work moving, as her muscles didn't seem to be obeying her brain's instructions. It took Cara twice the time it usually would have taken to get from the medical unit back to the main building, and every step she took was agonizing. Cara seriously detested needles and she was certainly not looking forward to the next week of injections.

When she'd returned to her room, it was only three-thirty. Cherubs still had lessons on Saturdays, but different people had different timetables, so Cara wasn't sure if the others had finished lessons or not. She decided to just chillax for a while, so she pulled out her iPod and plugged it into the dock, tapped on the shuffle button, and turned it up loud. She then crashed onto her bed and daydreamed – mostly about being qualified for missions, the summer hostel and just generally hanging out with her friends - after she would successfully have passed Basic Training.

Cara hadn't heard the bangs on her door through the sound of Nicki Minaj's Super Bass blasting from her speakers, so her friends had tried the door – which she hadn't locked - and filed into her room. She was startled when Mike yelled into her left ear, "CARA, TURN THE MUSIC _DOWN_."

Cara sat up quickly as Gemma twisted the volume knob on the dock. "When did you guys come in?" Cara grinned stupidly.

"When you were too busy listening to Nicki Minaj," Andrew smirked.

Cara giggled.

"We just finished lessons and thought we'd come to visit you," Mike explained.

"How was the medical test?" Ali sniggered.

"_Amazing_," Cara replied sarcastically. "How were lessons?"

Matt shrugged, "Just the usual. We were gonna spend the rest of Saturday night at the lake, wanna come?"

"Sure, I didn't have anything planned other than having a sing-off with myself anyway." Cara joked as she pulled on her boots and stood up.

…

Sunday was the day off and Cara didn't have anything on, so she allowed herself to sleep in. Unfortunately, this got disturbed by her friends again, walking into her room at eleven o'clock and dragging her out of her bed. They left and waited outside once they were sure that Cara'd fully woken up, while she brushed her teeth and got dressed.

Sunday was also the 'no uniform' day, and Cara eventually stepped out into the corridor dressed in a cropped t-shirt, high-waisted denim shorts, with gladiator sandals.

"Took you a while," Andrew rolled his eyes as the group made their way to the lift.

"Sor-_ry_," Cara said, dragging out the second syllable, "I couldn't decide what to wear."

Matt and Mike exchanged a look as if to say '_Girls_'.

"So where are we going again?" Cara asked as they exited the lift. "I haven't even had breakfast yet."

"Jack and Josh are coming back from their mission," Gemma explained.

They reached the fountain and stood waiting on the pathway beside it. After a few minutes, Cara could see a white minivan approaching. It pulled up beside them on the road, and the doors slid open. A tallish guy jumped out and grinned widely, stretching out his arms grandly and saying, "Did you guys miss me?" Everyone rolled their eyes while a clone of the first stepped out from behind. They were both golden from all the sun in Australia, and had spiky brown hair with pale blue eyes.

Eventually, after they had all hugged, the first set eyes on Cara and addressed the others, "Why haven't you guys introduced me to this cutie yet?"

Ali leant in to Cara and said, "Don't mind these two; they can get a little cocky sometimes."

Cara laughed and replied, "It's cool, they seem to be nice guys." She looked at the twins and introduced herself, "Hey, I'm Cara."

The second twin grinned mischievously as he stepped forward and kissed Cara's hand. "Nice to meet you, I'm Josh and that jerk's Jack."

Cara giggled while Mike stepped forward and swiped Cara's hand away from Josh. "Let's get the luggage to your rooms then get to the canteen for lunch."

The group spent the rest of Sunday giving Cara a proper tour of campus, and they settled for a movie marathon in Mike's room for the night - which turned into a popcorn fight. By the time Cara staggered across the short distance from Mike's room to hers, it was gone nine. Cara was still pretty high on the adrenaline and sugar, but figured that she needed sleep for the early start tomorrow and crashed off in bed without bothering to shower or change into her pajamas.


	9. Routine

**Cara's gonna be quite fashionable :D and there'll be some romance between her and Mike in later chapters! Please r&r :) xxx**

CHAPTER 9 – ROUTINE

The four weeks 'till Basic Training started flew past. Cara quickly got used to the daily routine of a cherub and although lessons were just as boring as normal lessons, they were more difficult and the teachers always kept you on your toes in class. Every cherub was given a personal curriculum and the pupils worked in small groups that were based on ability rather than age. As well as the normal classes like History, English and Maths, they also had to learn at least two languages, one of which uses a non-roman alphabet, and on top of that, cherubs also have to do special lessons like karate, kick boxing, survival skills, espionage and computer hacking. Cara's assigned subjects were: English, Literature, General and Further Maths, Science, History, Art and the languages. Cara was practically fluent in Greek and could speak some of French and German, so she was given lessons in French, German, and a new language – Spanish.

Every day, Cara also had to fitness train to be in top shape for when Basic Training started. She ran twenty laps of the athletics track twice a day, and pushed herself hard working out in the gym. She also sparred with some of her friends every day to practice the skills that she'd built up over the past years.

The only main event that happened during those four weeks was the occasion of Ali's twelfth birthday, three days before Training started. She had decided to celebrate this by hosting a mini party between only their group, where they'd play some music quietly, have some cake and just relax.

Cara had just finished twenty-five laps, and as she pulled off her sweaty t-shirt, she was happy with how fit her reflection looked. She showered and changed into a clean tank top and some denim shorts, then left her room, bare-footed and holding her iPod and dock, toward where the party was set at.

Ali had decided to have her party in her brother's room, where it would be easier for most of their group (as most of them were on that floor).

Cara knocked on Mike's door and was surprised to see a bare-chested Mike standing there when the door opened. He looked fit –a toned chest and six-pack. "Oh hey, Cara, you're a bit early," Mike grinned, closing the door behind Cara as she stepped into a messy room.

Ali was sitting cross-legged on the bed and jumped up to hug Cara when she saw her. "Thanks for coming!" She smiled as they broke apart from the hug.

"No worries, have the others come yet?"

"The twins popped up but left again to get some junk food for the party," Mike answered.

"Ahh, OK."

The rest of the group turned up one after the other in the next fifteen minutes and they each brought some snacks for the party. Cara plugged her dock in and played the role of the DJ, while the others dished out food. It was a fun night, and it passed by quickly – before she knew it, Cara was back in her room and it was ten already.

The life of being a cherub had slowly become a daily routine for Cara, and although it left her exhausted at the end of each day, she always looked forward to the next.


	10. Basic

**Basic Trainingggg!****!****!****!** Is Cara gonna pass?**?** Read on to find out ;) xxx

CHAPTER 10 – BASIC

The long dreaded first day of Basic Training came like a whip. Cara's eyes flickered open as her alarm clock buzzed. She quickly sat up in bed, not wanting to think about what was waiting in the day ahead.

The glowing numbers on the alarm read 3:43 a.m. as Cara stepped out of her ensuite, eyeballing the filthy rags laid out on the floor that were her uniform. The light blue CHERUB t-shirt and the trousers had black number sixes on them, and they were in horrible condition - there was a rip in the t-shirt and a massive stain on the trousers, Cara didn't want to know where they'd been before. The boots were tattered and dirty, so Cara ended up wearing her own fairly new ones, but she had to wear the rest of the kit as they had her number on them. She hauled the massive pack over her shoulders and walked out of her room with a longing backward glance – she was going to miss her wonderful room.

Cara arrived in the canteen at 3:50 a.m., and was happy to see Andrew already sitting at their usual table. She made her way over with a full tray, and greeted him with a warm smile. She noticed that she Andrew was number five.

They all mopped up their breakfasts and set off on the long walk to the Basic Training Compound at four-thirty, not wanting to arrive late on their first day.

The Compound was located beside the height obstacle course. From what Cara could see, the enclosure was about six times the size of the pitches, consisting of dense forest and lots of mud. It was surrounded by a five-metre-high wire fence. The plain concrete box which would be their virtual 'home' for the next a-hundred days was located near the centre of the compound, amidst huge muddy fields.

They both exchanged good lucks as they paused in front of the door leading into the training hut, before Andrew summoned courage and pushed open the door. The room had no windows and no heating. It contained ten rusty bed frames with thin battered mattresses lining them. They were fifteen minutes early, but there were already three other trainees standing at the end of the beds.

The Head Training Instructor was Pike, Cara was told, and his two assistants were Speaks and Smoke. She studied the three closely as she strode to the bed located on the left side in the centre of the room. Pike was tall and had fair hair and an athletic build. Her friends told Cara that he played the game fair, but making the next hundred days hell for the trainees was his job. His two assistants were both in their early thirties. Speaks was black and shaved bald. Smoke had long blonde hair and blue eyes.

Most of the remaining cherubs arrived within the next ten minutes, except for one slightly overweight dark-skinned boy who ran in just on time. Cara looked to Pike to see how he would punish the boy for being too on time, but instead Smoke stepped forward and yelled at the boy. "What took you so long, wog?!" The boy looked shocked at the outburst and muttered in reply,

"But I'm not late…"

"Did I say you could talk back? I think you look as if you've had enough breakfast already, why don't you go without lunch? Don't worry; it's only thirteen hours until dinner though." Smoke sniggered.

The boy looked like he'd been slapped as he trudged over to bed number four.

"So, now that we've got everyone, I'll make my welcome speech." Pike stepped forward and addressed the whole room. "You awake at 0545, cold shower, dress and run the assault course. At 0700 you will have breakfast, then do physical training until 0900 when school starts. Lessons include Espionage, Language, Weaponry, Karate and Survival Skills. At 1400 you run the assault course again. Lunch is at 1500. You have two more hours of physical training at 1600. At 1800 there will be one hour for you to shower, wash out and hang up your uniform, then clean and polish your boots. Dinner is at 1900, then one hour of homework from 1930 to 2030. You will return to your bed at 2045. Is that clear?"

Everyone was dumbfounded by the time Pike had finished his introduction.

**I'll post the next chapter once I get one review? Thanksss :)**


	11. Hell

**Thanks so much to the one person who reviewed! I'd love to know who you are though :) So here's the next chapter! Please please r&r and thanks to anyone who reads this :) xxxx**

CHAPTER 11 – HELL

They were all paired up according to the numbers on their t-shirts – one with two, three and four and so on. The first pair consisted of Nathan - a fit Asian boy who was in Cara's Math class, and Alice - a scrawny pale-skinned red-head that Cara hadn't met before. The second pair was the dark-skinned boy – Thomas, and a tall brunette named Kylie – she took the same French class as Cara. Andrew and Cara were the third pair, with Jordan – a tough-looking blonde girl and Chase – a buff Australian as the fourth and final pair.

The trainees followed Speaks and Smoke to the assault course at a jog, while Pike stayed back in the training hut, keeping a close eye on their progress from the CCTV cameras that covered the grounds.

Kazakov, Speaks and Smoke let the pairs go at five-minute intervals. After fifteen minutes of waiting, Cara and Andrew were waved through. The obstacle course started off with a long, muddy tunnel. By the time they crawled out from the other end, they were both caked in mud and shivering. It was only early autumn, but the breeze had a chill to it and the cold mud covering them wasn't much help. The course wasn't that hard, and Cara and Andrew made good partners.

Physical training took place in the squelchy mud. Crunches, squats, push-ups, star jumps, all the basic exercises – they weren't hard, but after being drilled to repeatedly do them, Cara couldn't keep it going for the whole of the two hours.

Speaks, Smoke and especially Kazakov screamed at you and blasted you with a freezing hose whenever you were going too slow, and now Cara was just getting a taste of what she'd have to live through for the next one hundred days. The two hours past achingly slow, and when physical training had finally come to an end, Cara found herself almost looking forward to school.

The first time that Cara had thrown up of exhaustion was on day fourteen during the grueling afternoon physical training session. She didn't dare rest for a second longer and kept running with a feeling of nausea in her stomach.

The weaker trainees dropped out inside the first thirty days.

Thomas quit on day seventeen after being dumped out in the freezing cold night by Kazakov and being told to sleep there. Alice only made it eleven days further, having broken her arm on day twenty-eight. Nathan and Kylie got paired together after both having an absence of a partner.

Everyday was the same. The trainees were shoved mercilessly through a day of hard work, and eventually Cara found herself getting used to life in hell. She was bruised and cut all over, sleep deprived and always cold, but she could just about cope.

The remaining trainees had formed close bonds despite not talking much and everyone helped each other out as much as they could, it was like they had all developed a sixth sense for covering each other's weaknesses.

The five hours of lessons were the easiest part of the day. They were totally different from usual lessons. There were five subjects altogether - Espionage, Language, Weaponry, Karate and Survival Skills.

Everyone had to start a new language from scratch for basic training and master a thousand word vocabulary by the end of the course. CHERUB picked a language from a country that matched your ethnicity. Nathan got Japanese and the remaining all got Russian. Cara would've liked the lesson if the Russian teacher, Mr Grwgoski, didn't always pace around the room, continuously verbally and physically insulting them.

Espionage was all about gadgets, but the ones they were encountering were nothing near as exciting as the ones you see in movies, except for the explosives, of course. Cara's favorite device was the electronic listening devices, and she also found the computer hacking interesting. Mrs Flagg seemed like a nice old lady, but was constantly moaning about the cold, even in her fur clothes while the trainees only had their thin damp t-shirts.

At midday, the trainees were lead outdoors by all four instructors for their Survival Skills lesson. It was interesting building shelters and learning what wildlife they could and couldn't eat. Sometimes they even got to eat the food that they roasted. Extra food – like warmth, was occasional, but every glimpse of it was bliss for the trainees.

Weaponry was exactly how it sounded – they learnt all about weapons, guns, knives etcetera.

School concluded with karate. This lesson was the easiest for Cara of course, but it was a bore. Every lesson was the same – learn a new move or two, practice it over and over until they got it perfect, go over a few old moves, then finish by sparring. Andrew had been recruited to CHERUB at the age of nine, whereas Cara had started martial arts training at the age of six, but Andrew was strong. They often had an even match, and they went easy on each other, but not easy enough to be noticed by the teacher.

Overall, Cara enjoyed the lessons; they were all pretty interesting and were a kind of break from the rest of the day.


	12. Snap

**Thanks a lot to AravisofArchenland for reviewing the last chapter! Please please let me know what you guys think about it! :) xxxx  
**

CHAPTER 12 – SNAP

It was day sixty-two, the afternoon session of the assault course. Cara and Andrew had just swum across a freezing lake and were now running across a two-hundred-metre stretch of jagged rocks toward the next obstacle. They could now see the end of the assault course.

As they finally reached the end of the course, Cara could see that they were the second pair to arrive. Nathan and Kylie were already there, washing out their t-shirts with the standpipe. They walked over to do the same as second-nature – otherwise when the mud dried, it itches like crazy. Cara couldn't care less how the others could see her bra – they were like family now, and she was too knackered to care anyway.

Jordan and Chase still hadn't turned up by the time she and Andrew had finished cleaning up and Cara thought this was unusual as they were the strongest pair. At that moment, their heads appeared further down the hill. The two pairs quickly scurried over and Kylie hissed, "What took you guys so long?" They didn't need a reply.

Jordan's foot was at a weird angle, and she had her right arm draped across the back of Chase's neck. Chase looked a state, he had been carrying both packs and most of the weight of Jordan, and she was all muscle. He collapsed onto the ground once Nathan had taken over, supporting Jordan as Andrew bent down to examine her foot.

"I think you've twisted it badly, should we get Mr Pike?"

Jordan shook her head, "I'll be alright, don't worry."

"Are you sure, Jordan?" Cara asked despite her determined look. Jordan was really nice although she constantly put up a tough act.

"Yeah, I've gone this far already and I'm not gonna let a stupid twisted ankle get in my way."

Jordan had quite some trouble with her ankle the next few days and you could visibly see her struggling despite her companions giving her a helping hand as often as possible. The instructors, however, punished her for falling behind, "No dinner, and you can stick your little arse outside at bedtime."

Cara couldn't keep her anger back at how the instructors were bullying her good mate and charged forward to Jordan's rescue before the others could pull her back. "Jordan hurt her ankle, that's why she's been struggling!"

"Oh, is that the case?" Speaks sneered, "Well how stupid of her for not pulling out and trying to be a brave little angel."

That was the closest Cara had come to rage quitting – not for her own sake, but for her friend's.


	13. Air

**The last chapter was a bit short so I'll post another one! Last few days of Basic Traininggggg :O I didn't want to make it the same as in the original book, but I didn't want to copy Lauren or other author's ideas either so I decided that rainforest would work well. Please r&r! :) xxx**

CHAPTER 13 – AIR

For the final days of Basic Training, the trainees and instructors were heading to Brazil. They flew business class from Heathrow and were told that the flight would last twelve hours and a bit hours.

The luxurious leather seats were so spaced out that Cara couldn't reach the seat in front even when she leant back and stretched out her legs. There were pull-up screens for movies and stuff, but Cara got air sickness so she just listened to the music that the channels provided. The service was good as well. It would have been good any time, but after thirteen hard weeks, it was heaven. And with her friends around her, she felt safer and happier than ever.

There was a five-hour difference between London time and Manaus time. The flight had taken off at eight a.m. London time, so they would arrive around three p.m. Manaus time – Cara did the maths in her head as she sipped at her mango juice.

Cara slowly ate the dinner that the stewardess had served with a warm smile. Under normal circumstances, she wouldn't have eaten the food as even the smell made her sick, but after thirteen weeks of the same old boring food, it actually tasted OK.

She spent the remaining of the flight recovering from the ninety-five days of exhaustion from Basic Training – sleeping.

…

They touched down at the EduardoGomesInternationalAirport in Manaus and as they jumped off the jet, they felt a blast of humid air. Cara found it hard to breathe at first, but she didn't have to suffer for long as they boarded the (thankfully air-conditioned) taxi-van that Pike had booked for them. They were informed that the drive was short – only about fifteen minutes. Cara had no idea where they were heading now, but she was impressed when they turned and approached a grand hotel.

The buildings were white and quite low, and from what Cara could see, they formed a square-like shape, with a beautiful outdoor pool located in the centre. The whole place was surrounded by trees, and she already loved the place as they slowed to a stop in front of the arched entrance.

Cara shared a spacious room with Andrew. Thankfully, though, the room had two queen beds. It had a balcony overlooking the massive pool, and Cara couldn't wait to get downstairs and cool down in the turquoise water. Before being dismissed, the instructors told the trainees that they had the rest of the day to themselves, but to rest earlier as they had an early start the next day.

The trainees all headed down to the pool as soon as the instructors had gone, and it was fun chilling out with the others while the weight of Basic Training temporarily lifted off her shoulders. They were close, but hadn't gotten much chance to talk other than over dinner, as if you got extra time you wouldn't waste it talking.

The trainees all headed to Nathan and Kylie's room and pigged out on room service from there, and after eating, they all retreated to their own rooms, deciding that it was a good idea to listen to the instructors' advice.


	14. Countdown

**And the survival course begins! Thanks to the guest who recently reviewed and also a shoutout to AravisOfArchenland, Tyia and magmon1000 for favoriting! Please please let me know what you think of this chapter! :) xxx**

CHAPTER 14 – COUNTDOWN

Speaks came barging into their room early next morning and ordered Cara and Andrew, still half asleep, to quickly get ready and meet the others in the hotel lobby. They did as told, and later found themselves on the hotel roof, right beside a billowing military helicopter which was a mere ten metres above ground.

The trainees changed into a new set of uniform, minus the CHERUB logo, and sat on their heavy packs while Pike went around strapping electronic wristbands - which he explained were for emergencies - to each of them.

The Amazon Rainforest was located in the upper section of Brazil south of the Equator. The trainees were to be dropped off in different areas of the tropical rainforest, and they had to reach four different checkpoints on time within the next seventy-two hours. Before the first pair were to be dropped off, Pike reminded the trainees of the dangers of the real world, while his two sidekicks grumbled 'good lucks' to them.

Cara and Andrew were second to be dropped off. The instructors had carefully picked out an area were the trees were sparser, and stooped low over the ground. Smoke threw both their packs out of the open door, and the two trainees sat on the side with their feet dangling over. Cara pushed off and landed exactly as they had been taught to. She stood up, dusting off her side, and searched for her partner. Andrew had landed a couple of metres from where Cara did, and he seemed fine as well.

They both dragged their packs under the cover of the trees, and began searching for their briefings.

Cara found hers first, and was slightly surprised to see the symbols that were Russian letters filling the page. But of course, what better to test them with than under a stressful situation, along with the risk of failing Basic Training? Andrew swore when he saw his.

Cara skimmed through the briefing; she actually understood most of it, while Andrew sorted through their packs, deciding the things that were essential and the things that they didn't really need – it would be too much work moving around with the heavy packs.

There was a single A4 map at the back of the briefing, and the briefing basically was for the two to arrive at the first checkpoint south-east by 1400. This meant they had about four hours to get there. Cara wasn't really looking forward to the walk, but she tried to look on the good side – this was the last part to Basic Training and she'd been through worse.

"OK, so, we've got everything, we know which direction we're heading and we're short of time. Let's get moving." Cara said, setting off at a brisk pace amongst the trunks of trees.

Andrew was better at maps, so he was responsible for calculating where they were heading. "It says the Amazon River runs along parallel to the route we're meant to be taking. Why don't we walk next to the river so we don't lose track?"

Cara looked thoughtful as they crunched along the floor of the rainforest, "But what if there're crocodiles and stuff?"

"Well if we're gonna get killed by any of the animals, there're also poisonous snakes hidden within these trees, and I've read something about crocodiles being slower if you run in zig zag." Andrew insisted.

"Fine then, but if we get munched up, then I'm blaming you." Cara joked, changing direction slightly so that they were heading diagonally toward the river while still moving forwards.

Andrew laughed. "But surely the instructors wouldn't want to have us killed, after all those days of training us?"

"True, and Zara mentioned that CHERUB has always been short of agents," Cara reassured themselves.


	15. Three

**Hi everyone :) sorry I haven't posted for a while and I hope you enjoy this chapter. Thanks to SecretCharm24 who recently favorited my story. Please r&r and thanks to anyone who reads this! xxx**

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CHAPTER 15 – THREE

They moved through the rest of the journey toward the river in silence, their heavy breaths and call of animals being the only sound. The good thing about being in the jungle was that all the trees shielded them from the sun, and there would be frequent rain, which meant that they could get fresh water once their canteens ran out. The downside, however, was all the bugs. The climate was humid and wet, the best kind for breeding bugs, and they had to be extra careful as there were a few deadly diseases that could be spread by them.

They could now see the river and kept to the trees beside it, keeping it in view but not quite walking on the bank. Andrew pulled out the map again and roughly estimated how long there was to go. "I reckon we've made about three-quarters of the way there already," he said as they walked, at a slightly slower pace than when they had started but still steady.

"Cool," Cara panted, tired from all the walking. She nearly tripped over a tree root sticking out of the ground, "Crap, we'd better watch this floor; it's got roots sticking up practically _everywhere_."

Andrew wiped sweat from his forehead and nodded, "Yeah, a twisted ankle wouldn't do us any good."

They spotted a flag in the distance, located on a bit of flat ground, and moved a little faster, glad that they had made it, about an hour inside the deadline as well. There was a small shelter built out of the surrounding branches beside the flag, and Andrew was smart to poke around it with a stick before entering. Thankfully nothing came jumping out at them, and they both crawled in, relieving their legs from the trek. There were four more full water canteens sitting along the back of the shelter, along with some extra equipment and the briefings for their next destination.

Again, Cara was in charge of the briefing, while Andrew stuffed the extra equipment into their packs, adding a little more to his, and examined the map. This time they had to reach the second checkpoint by 1700, and they had half an hour extra on top of the three hours to get there if they only rested for only half an hour.

The two set off again after they'd checked the direction they were heading in was correct. They hadn't encountered any predators yet and Cara felt that they would sooner or later. She felt safe though, as the skills she had learnt through CHERUB along with how tough Basic Training was, somehow reassured her.

The walk was shorter than the first, but the ratio of the time to get there and the distance was slightly altered: the walk was shorter alright, but they also had to move faster to get there. The walk before had already drained most of Cara's energy, but now they had to practically jog through the tangled floor the whole way. The two hardly talked throughout the journey as they were already out of breath, but at least they had a half hour's bonus time.

At last, they found themselves at the base of another flag, hands on their knees and trying to catch their breath, ten minutes before the deadline.

Cara straightened up and turned toward Andrew, "Good job, Partner," she smiled, "Two down, two to go."

Andrew looked up and grinned, "Yeah, but I bet the last two are gonna be sooo draining, and the instructors have _got_ to have some sort of trick up their sleeves, they wouldn't just make it that easy for us."

The briefing had told them to stay the night there, and again there was a shelter already built up there.

The two worked together to make the shelter as comfortable and safe as possible, so they laid out some hand-made traps about ten metre's radius from the shelter. They then split roles on preparing their dinner – Andrew went to pick some berries and hunt for some meat, while Cara stayed back at the shelter, boiling water and stuff.

They made a small fire at night for the light and not the warmth, and studied their third briefing while eating.

This one was way longer than the first two. They had to travel fifty kilometres by 2000 the next day. This would mean that they'd have to leave early, sparing time for rests etcetera, and there was still the possible trick that the instructors would play on them.


End file.
